


Time Hasn't Told

by BerryBagel



Series: Endgame Fix-It Fics [2]
Category: Captain America (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Avengers: Endgame (Movie) Spoilers, Crack Treated Seriously, F/M, Fluff, Happy Ending, Humor, M/M, Post-Endgame
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-02
Updated: 2019-05-02
Packaged: 2020-02-15 23:26:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,216
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18679441
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BerryBagel/pseuds/BerryBagel
Summary: Steve finesses his retirement through some creative usage of time travel.  But hey, if it works, it works.Endgame Fix-it fic!





	Time Hasn't Told

**Author's Note:**

> MAJOR ENDGAME SPOILERS IN THIS FIC!
> 
> Title from Fall Out Boy's "America's Suitehearts," which I listened to while writing this!

2023 ɑ timeline

* * *

 

Steve swears up and down that he’ll be back.  To the end of the line, he says. Bucky believes he means it.  Left to his own devices, Steve probably would come zipping right back through the space-time continuum.

 

But Steve is going back to the 50’s.  He’s going to have his “final” dance with Peggy, and he’s going to save alternate timeline Bucky from Hydra.  Alternate timeline Peggy and Bucky aren’t idiots. They aren’t just gonna let Steve go blasting back to the future.  They’re gonna be making their most _convincing_ arguments for Steve to stay back with them.

 

Steve thinks he wants to come back, but he’ll be singing a different song once he’s facing the full seductive power of 1950’s Peggy and Bucky combined.   _God_ , in the 1950’s Hydra was still trying to get the right combination of Winter Soldier steroids.  Steve is gonna be rescuing Bucky at his absolute bulkiest. 2023 Bucky cannot compete with the alluring emotional neediness and ‘roided-out physique of 1950’s Bucky.

 

So Bucky is feeling a little bitter at his goddamn alternate timeline self, but he doesn’t blame Steve.  At least there’ll be a timeline out there where Bucky’s claim to fame isn’t a bloody trail of assassinations.

 

Sam has apparently deluded himself into thinking Steve is coming back.  Sam and Banner nervously count down the seconds. Bucky could laugh. Have they not seen pictures of Peggy Carter, back in the day?  No red-blooded American could honestly say they’d pass up on that, just to live in a world with cellphones and twitter. And, _God_ , her _personality_ was good, too.  Steve is going to have the time of his life.

 

Then, somehow, Bucky is the fool.  Right on cue, Steve reappears. Banner visibly breathes a sigh of relief.  Sam tries to cover up his own nervous energy with a laugh. Bucky just stares in total shock.

 

“Hang on.” He says.  “That’s not right.”

 

* * *

1950, β timeline

* * *

 

Steve is only here temporarily.  He’s with Bucky to the end of the line.  He will not leave Bucky alone in 2023. 2023 is not the end of the line.  He is only here for the dance he promised Peggy, and to save Bucky from years of Hydra torture.  He has to go back. He cannot leave Bucky alone in 2023.

 

“You can’t leave me alone _here_ , either.” whines 1950’s rescued-from-hydra Bucky.  1950’s rescued-from-hydra Bucky, who is at least two hundred pounds of solid muscle, and yet has climbed into Steve’s lap like a housecat.  “I’m not alone in 2023. Sam’s there. You keep saying how great Sam is.”

 

And that is, actually, an _excellent_ point, Steve thinks.  “Sam _is_ great.  And he’s also gonna miss-”

 

Bucky cuts him off by licking a stripe up his neck.  Jesus Christ.

 

Peggy has made it very clear that she would like Steve to stay here in this timeline, but she isn’t going to stoop to begging.  Bucky has _also_ clearly articulated that Steve should stay, and Bucky is _not_ above begging.

 

Bucky has been out of Hydra-induced cryosleep for exactly  two weeks to the day, and has spent at least half that time in direct physical contact with Steve.  Very very persuasive direct physical contact.

 

Peggy arrives back home half an hour later, and Steve _knows_ how smitten he must look when she walks into the room.  With her, with Bucky, with the general premise of them all being here, together, and alive.  He knows. Bucky knows. Peggy certainly knows. She rolls her eyes at the frankly indecent display currently occurring on her couch.

 

“The project to find the Valkyrie was given the all-clear.” She says.

 

That’s...good, Steve thinks.  He’s thinking slower than usual because Bucky is mouthing over his pulse point.

 

Yes.  He reaffirms the statement to himself.  That’s very good. Because when they find the Valkyrie, Bucky and Peggy will have the Steve from this timeline back.  Their Steve. And Steve can go back to his Bucky. And things will be as they should be.

 

There’s no harm in staying until they thaw out this timeline’s Steve, right?  How long could that possibly take? They know exactly where to look for him. And in the meantime, Steve can help Peggy root out the Hydra agents in SHIELD.  And he can offer emotional support as Bucky recovers from Hydra captivity.

 

_Emotional support_.  Is that what the kids are calling it nowadays?

 

Peggy joins them on the couch, real casual-like.  She very carefully leans her head against Steve’s shoulder.  Steve wraps an arm around her, and she scoots closer. She fits against him like a puzzle piece.

 

“Hey, pal.” Bucky says, from the other side, squirming back into motion.  “Bet Sam doesn’t do _this_.”

 

* * *

Still 1950, still β timeline

* * *

 

It’s been two months.  The coast guard can’t find the Valkyrie.  They’re discontinuing the search. The technology just isn’t there yet.  Steve really slammed that plane straight into the ground and out of sight.  He, honestly, would’ve expected a big ice crater hole to be pretty easy to locate.  He should’ve brought coordinates with him. That would’ve been the strategic move, in retrospect.

 

“It’s fine.”  He reassures Peggy.  “The ice will melt, and they’ll stumble upon me eventually.  Global warming, y’know?”

 

Peggy does not seem reassured.  Steve takes a few minutes to describe what global warming is.  That doesn’t help much, either.

 

“They could find you _decades_ from now.” She says.

 

“It might be sooner.”  Steve says.

 

“When did they find you, in the timeline you came from?” Peggy asks.

 

“2011.” Steve tries to say very quickly.

 

“Decades from now.” She repeats.

 

“Yes, but Howard will still be alive in this timeline, and his work may-”

 

“Or it might go the other way, and you aren’t found until long after we’re dead.  You should be here with us.” Peggy says.

 

And, yes, Steve knows he belongs here with them.  What they have here is good and right. But his home in the 2020’s is also, finally, as it should be.  There’s no good solution.

 

* * *

STILL 1950, STILL β timeline

* * *

 

“In my timeline, you grew your hair out.” Steve tells Bucky.  They’re in Peggy’s backyard, removing a tree stump. _If you’re not going to get a job, you may as well make yourself useful_ , Peggy had told him.  Steve has been avoiding getting a job, because that would feel far too much like making himself a permanent establishment in this timeline.  Bucky can’t start in at SHIELD until he gets signed off on being clear of Hydra brainwashing. So the unluckiest tree stump in the country now has two supersoldiers set on turning it into mulch.

 

“Did I grow a beard?” Bucky asks.  “I feel like I’d look pretty good with a beard.”

 

“You did.” Steve says.

 

Bucky swings at the stump.  He’s not used to the strength in the metal arm yet, and the axe handle in his grip starts to crack.  “You’re not actually gonna leave us here, are you?”

 

Steve sighs.  “I don’t know.  I can’t just _not_ go back.”

 

“Future me sounds like a real sad sack.” Bucky says.

 

“He’s not.  You’ve been through a lot in that timeline.” Steve says.

 

“I’ve been through a lot in _this_ timeline.”

 

“You’re a sad sack in this timeline, so that checks out.” Steve says.  Bucky rolls his eyes.

 

“To the end of the line, right?” Bucky says.

 

“Right.” Steve says.  “But there are two lines, and only one of me.”

 

They both hack away in silence for a time.

 

Then Bucky pauses, leaning back on his heels. “Y’know, that’s not entirely true.”

 

* * *

2011, β timeline

* * *

 

“What do you mean, he’s _gone_?” Fury asks.  There’s ten agents in the room, and all of them are avoiding eye contact.  “Where did he go?”

 

Captain America has been out of the ice for less than two months, and they’ve lost him.  The man is six feet tall, the size of a truck, and known for performing on stage in star-spangled tights.  How hard could he _possibly_ have been to keep tabs on?

 

“He went to the Smithsonian on Tuesday morning.  Left with a package.” One of the agents says to her feet.

 

“What was in the package?” Fury asks.

 

“A safe deposit box key.  We looked into the records on it.  It was originally brought to the museum by Agent Carter in 1950, as one of Rogers’s personal effects.”

 

“And I’m guessing after he got the key, he went and opened a safe deposit box?” Fury asks.

 

Another agent continues the narrative. “He did.  Rogers spent fifteen minutes inside the vault, and then returned to his apartment.  To the best that we could identify, he was carrying a suit with him.”

 

“So wherever he went, he’s dressed up?” Fury says.

 

“Ah, no, sir.  A...uh...diving suit?  So far as we can tell.” The agent passes a picture across the table to Fury.  Sure enough, there’s the good Captain, strolling into his apartment building with what does look, for all the world, like a hideous red and white scuba suit.

 

“Should we be looking for him underwater, then?”

 

“We should be looking for him in his apartment.  He went inside, and that was the last anyone saw of him.”

 

“Who was running surveillance on the apartment this week?”

 

“That was me, sir.” One of the younger agents says.  “No noted signs of struggle or commotion. Just total silence until Thursday, when we ran the full sweep.  Nothing was out of place or missing.”

 

“Except for Rogers.” Fury says.

 

“Except for Rogers.” The agent confirms.  “And the suit.”

 

“He didn’t take his motorcycle?”

 

“No, and all cars in the parking garage were accounted for.”

 

Fury shakes his head.  How far can a man on foot wearing a brightly colored scuba suit have possibly gone?

 

* * *

2023 ɑ timeline

* * *

 

“What’s not right?” Banner says, immediately looking down fearfully at his switchboard of dials.

 

Sam looks at Steve, then back at Bucky.  “What’re you...yeah, actually. Steve looks different.”

 

“He looks the same to me.” Banner says.

 

“I think his hair is different?” Sam asks.  “No, that’s not it…”

 

“He’s younger.” Bucky says.  Bucky has seen Steve up close and personal, for a variety of reasons, from a variety of angles.  He can confidently say that the Steve currently standing in front of him is at least a good ten years younger than the Steve he just saw disappear five seconds ago.

 

“I don’t think we have the Pym particles to try and fix the age.  He’s not that much younger, right? I mean, he sorta looks the same to me.”  Banner says.

 

Steve is looking at Banner with confusion. “Where am I?” He takes an uncertain step off the platform.

 

“It’s 2023, Steve.  You came back.” Bucky says.

 

Steve whips his head around.  “Bucky?”

 

Bucky considers hitting him with a _who the hell is Bucky_ , just to be an ass.  But Steve is looking at him with an overwhelming amount of...relief?  Is that the emotion Steve’s showing right now?

 

“Thank God.  I thought you were dead.” Steve says.  He pull Bucky in for an absolutely lung-crushing hug.  It’s phenomenal. Bucky thought he was going to have to live the rest of his life without ever seeing Steve again.  It’s not clear to Bucky what’s currently occurring, but Steve is back, and Bucky will gladly accept being squeezed like a tube of toothpaste.

 

“What’s the last thing you remember?” Sam asks.

 

“I put on the suit from the deposit box, and followed the directions in the note.” Steve says.

 

“The note?  What deposit box?”  Bucky asks.

 

“Peggy left me a note with the suit.” Steve says.

 

“Peggy?” Banner asks.

 

“Weren’t you with Peggy?” Sam asks.

 

“I was in 2011.  Who are you?” Steve asks.  Steve has still not let go of Bucky, but turns to get a closer look at Sam.

 

Bucky wonders if this is a weird joke.  Then it all suddenly clicks. “I don’t think this is our Steve.  I think this is the Steve that was under the ice in the other timeline.”

 

Steve looks offended, because of course he does.  He pulls back from the hug. “What’dya mean, not _your_ Steve?”

 

Bucky has to laugh. “Our _timeline’s_ Steve.  How about that?  Obviously you’re still mine.”  He reaches out and reels Steve back in.

 

And it’s true.  They’re going to have a lot of explaining to do.  This Steve is going to need to be reintroduced to Sam and all the others.  But it’s still Steve. The same self-sacrificing, standing-up-for-the-little-guy, pain-in-the-ass Steve.

 

Bucky can’t find it in himself to even be jealous of his past self anymore.  That fool can have this timeline’s Steve. There’s a bona fide Steve Rogers here in the present.  He might not know anything about what happens between the years 2011 and 2023, but hey, Bucky barely remembers anything that happened between 1945 and 2014. They’ll get through it.  They always do.

 

Steve came back.  Not in the expected or easy way, but Steve never does anything the easy way.  No doubt this timeline’s Steve is back in the 50’s, pleased as punch that he found a way to have his cake and eat it, too.  Fair enough. After everything they’ve been through, they all probably deserve some cake.

**Author's Note:**

> They confirmed that Steve does actually retire to a different timeline in canon, which is far more satisfying than my previous understanding that Steve somehow stuck himself into a time paradox!
> 
> Of course, then I wondered what happened to the Steve under the ice in the retirement timeline. That line of inquiry led me to write this :)


End file.
